Hi Susan! It so great to have you here today and I am looking forward to learning more about you and your work. I wish you lots of sales and success with your latest release DESPERATE HOPE - I love the cover! Let's kick things off with my questions...
1.)
What do you wish you’d known before you started
writing?
I wish I had known that
beyond the creation of a story and characters (which I love!) are the many
tedious hours of revision and editing. Releasing a book in pristine condition
is a must for me, despite knowing the number of hours it will take to find all
the typos and misprints. As I read somewhere, “My best editing comes after I
click Send!”
I could not find myself writing about vampires, werewolves, or other supernatural creatures. Even thinking about these now makes my heart race. The real world is scary enough for me.
3.)
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am a panster. I first search for an historical event that might seem hard to believe actually happened. There are so many to choose from. Then I come up with characters to be dropped into that situation. I begin writing and see what develops as all writers know that sometimes characters will not do what we want them to! I may change my path several times, but I always have the happy ending in mind. I tried plotting once, but I was not comfortable with it.
4.)
If you could be the original author for any
book, which book would it be? Why?
This is a difficult decision for me. Jude Deveraux’s books introduced me to historical romance years ago, and I’ve never left. My all time-favourite is “A Knight in Shining Armor” which I would love to claim as my own. More recently my writing is inspired by Diane Gabaldon’s “Outlander,” who bases her unforgettable romance in true history. I have read both these books several times because they pull me so deeply into the story.
5) What
are you working on at the moment?
My fifth novel, “Forgiven Never Forgotten,” is coming out in December and is based on the Glencoe Massacre in Glencoe, Scotland in 1692. I also have a manuscript in the works based on “Washington’s Life Guards,” an elite guard chosen to protect George Washington during the American Revolution, and the plot to assassinate Washington by one of those guards.
5.)
Do you work on one book at a time? More?
I write one book at a time, but I always have another floating around in my head. I scribble notes on the future one, and sometimes even create the possible characters, which usually inspires me to delve deeper into the ones I’m working on at the time. I never know what will get me thinking about a new plot or character, often it’s a book I’ve read or even a TV storyline, and sometimes I incorporate my “daydream” into my present work.
6.)
Do you have a favourite character in your
latest release?
My fourth novel released late last year, “Desperate Hope,” is about George Washington’s spy network during the American Revolution, and although I adore my hero, Gavin Cullane, and my heroine, Tansy Carter, my favourite character is Tansy’s four-year-old niece, Mercy. While danger surrounds them as the British try to capture and hang Gavin and Tansy as spies, Mercy plays her role in their escape with aplomb. She may be too young to understand the bigger picture of the revolution, but her family is her strength, and she steps up to the challenge without hesitation. Another beloved character is Brian, a lonely, ignored man whom Gavin looks after, and one who will sacrifice his life for his friend.
Blurb
Desperate Hope
His new country needed him. He needed her more.
Revolutionary War soldier, Gavin Cullane, has desperate choices to
make. He vows never to give up the fight for American freedom, but his role as
colonial liaison between the Americans and the British brands him a seeming
traitor to his own country. When he discovers the woman he loves is part of
George Washington’s secret spy chain, his only choice is to expose his own lies
so she can escape.
Tansy Carter risks her life to send messages to George Washington from
the captured city of New York. When she is discovered, she must flee the city. Trusting
her life to the traitor, Cullane, is the desperate chance she must take.
Will they discover a love as strong as the new country they are
fighting for?
Universal link: books2read.com/u/meK1xz
Buy from my website: www.SusanLFurlong.com
Print books also available at: https://www.amazon.com/Desperate-Hope-Susan-Leigh-Furlong/dp/1509245979/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1695670418&sr=8-3
Susan's upcoming December release...
Survivors can forgive, but they can never forget.
Rory Campbell, falsely accused of participating in the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe killings, is sentenced to hang as a sacrificial lamb while the real agents of the slaughter escape blame. He risks everything to convince the love of his life, Joneta MacDonald, of the truth. He can never forget how completely she owns his heart.
Joneta MacDonald watches helplessly as her family is murdered by the king’s men, but forgiving Rory for his seeming participation is harder than she imagined. Can she endure the clan’s hatred of him? Can she cling to her love for a traitor despite overwhelming odds.
Biography-Susan Leigh
Furlong -
Susan Leigh Furlong knew she had a special connection with words since she was a child. When she was 9 years old, she wrote and directed her first play for the neighborhood children.
Her love for history fuels her resilience against the sneezes and coughs that old books give her as she delves into research for unique historic events to inspire her historical fiction romance novels. Susan captures her readers’ imagination with a highly enthralling style, chronological events, and smoothly flowing narratives that keep one’s eyes glued on her novels from the first page to the last.
Her first three books, published by The Wild Rose Press, center on the adventures of the Cullane family living in the Scottish Highlands in the sixteenth century. Her most recent novel takes place during the American Revolution, featuring a descendent of the same family but across the pond.
When she is not researching and creating her stories, she writes,
directs, and performs with a music and drama group.
Rachel, Thank you so much for this post. Your site is beautifully created, and I appreciate a chance to be on it.
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